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PEACE From Ashland to Israel and Palestine, via the Sorbonne Man with deep local roots seeks to serve in the struggle for peace in the Mideast Comment By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 24, 2015 at 8:20 PM Updated Aug 26, 2015 at 12:41 PM By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 24, 2015 at 8:20 PM Updated Aug 26, 2015 at 12:41 PM 'Love and Terror in the Middle East' --> An excerpt from “Love and Terror in the Middle East" Nerves jumped inside me as the shuttle drove over the exact spot where a tear gas canister had been mercilessly shot at me, ... » Read more X 'Love and Terror in the Middle East' An excerpt from “Love and Terror in the Middle East" Nerves jumped inside me as the shuttle drove over the exact spot where a tear gas canister had been mercilessly shot at me, plunging through my flag, burning a hole in it and then clanking on the ground beside me, fizzling and sputtering, where I was talking to the press and non-violent peace activists. None of us had been throwing rocks but we were tear-gassed anyway. It was treacherous! As the canister spit throat-splitting fumes into the heavy air, the pounding heat of the tear gas canister, the group scattered. My anger, for being directly targeted, froze me to where I stood, the pounding heat of the tear gas searing my brow. Without thinking and remembering what some Palestinian activists had done in similar circumstances, I held my breath as I ran to the canister and gave it a huge kick, aiming for the other side of the road.  As it tumbled, end over end, I exhaled and then inhaled deeply; while inhaling, the wind suddenly shifted and the fumes returned and vengefully engulfed me, entering my lungs before I could stop inhaling. My throat screamed as I inhaled the fire air; a gasping cough exploded from my lungs … I froze in the middle of the street, cars screeched to a stop on either side of my drooping body. No one honked … When I came to I was lying on my back, a hard, cold object jammed over my mouth and nose; a cool flow seeped down my throat and into my panting lungs … A hand brushed my shoulder. “Breathe easy my friend, slow breaths. You’ll be OK." » Social News Frank Romano spent some of his growing up years in the historic 1904 George Taverner home on Siskiyou Boulevard in Ashland, went on to be a lawyer and professor at the Sorbonne in Paris — but still yearned for something bigger, something that would reduce the pain in the world’s biggest, longest-running sore spot: the Mideast. On his own initiative — and not working with any “peacenik group” or getting much pay for it — Romano has worked out a system of going into the heart of the conflict in Israel and Palestine and getting the angry players to not only sit down and talk, but, he says, to work on rebuilding and replanting in devastated Palestinian areas. It’s idealistic and dangerous work and Romano says two of his friends doing the same kind of freelance peace work were recently murdered. “I’ve been accused of having a death wish or a messiah complex,” Romano says, “I had a comfortable bohemian life in Paris. But everyone has to have a vision and I figured out what mine was. Fear is a problem sometimes and I know when to be a fair-weather activist — although it’s never fair weather in the Mideast. I take risks but not unnecessary risks. I try to make it a better world in my own little corner.” Romano details his peace activism in his memoir, “Love and Terror in the Middle East,” just published in a fourth edition with new chapters that tell of him facing down death in a big Palestinian riot in Jenin on the West Bank. “Israeli soldiers came to arrest a young Palestinian man as a terrorist, he may have resisted and they killed him,” says Romano. “It was a whirlpool of violence, shouting hate mantras. About 50 men surrounded me, an American — and America is imputed in anything Israel does — so I said a prayer, but instead of doing me harm, one by one, they reached out and shook my hand.” The “love” in the books title refers to the many people on both sides, he says, who accept everyone’s right to exist and live well, while the “terror” in the title refers to those on both sides who demonize the other side and want them wiped out. Romano recently organized a project for Christians, Jews and Muslims to replant Palenstinian olive trees, where thousands of them were mowed down to make room for West Bank settlements, he says. He also helped organize the rebuilding of a school and other projects. “With so much lost land, the Palestinians can’t feed their children and they’re shacking up with family members. But we’re working together, me and my interfaith group of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) on peace projects — infrastructure destroyed in the Intifada of 15 years ago." Romano sees the “possibility” for peace in such a grassroots effort. It will happen, he says, but not in our generation. It’s growing, but it’s not reported in the news, he says. “You don’t hear about it. You hear about all the blood spilling … . I believe the only solution has to be non-violent, a systematic understanding on all sides. And we have to pressure our government. The negotiations of our government failed a year ago — just a lot of shuttling back and forth.” The hard truth about the unending conflict in the Middle East, he notes, is that non finding a solution works, in some ways, for both sides — or rather, the extreme right of both sides — and it’s become a veritable powder-keg under Premier Benjamin Netanyahu. Romano chooses to work independently, not as part of NGO peace agencies, noting “the peacenik groups have too many strings attached, disguise themselves with peace but are money mongers … many activists have just given up, but we are planting seeds. I conducted 55 interfaith events over there in one month recently.” In Ashland, his great-grandfather occupied the now historic Taverner House, across from Ashland High School, 111 years ago. It was designed and built by regionally famed architect Frank Clark. It’s on the National Register of Historic Places (www.nps.gov/nr/travel/ashland/tav.htm). Romano's family has a long association with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. His grandmother, Rose Taverner Robinette, was “official head hostess,” greeting entering theater goers for 30 years. His mother, Ethel Mae Robinette, was a student of festival founder Angus Bowmer at the old Southern Oregon College (now SOU), then was a star on the festival stage in “Much Ado About Nothing” and “As You Like It.” She sang at the chapel of Camp White, the World War II training camp (now White City), where she met her future husband, an Army captain. Romano’s best friend of youth was football legend Sonny Sixkiller, who lived in the house next door (now a parking lot). Romano became a lawyer in California but shut down his practice to live in Paris. He is the multilingual author of several books on the Mideast, two in French. His previous book, “Storm Over Morocco,” was his Ph.D. thesis and tells of being a hostage of radical, violent Muslims in that country. He escaped. His nonfiction is entertaining and engaging, reads like a novel, but is all true. Romano is on a 14-state tour of book readings-signings, “author events” which often turn into interfaith peace gatherings, bringing together members of the three Abrahamic faiths (Christians, Jews and Muslims). He tries to get them to concede they all worship the same God, he says, “so how could you kill someone for the same God?” John Darling is an Ashland freelance writer. Reach him at [email protected]. By John Darling For the Tidings DailyTidings.com By John Darling For the Tidings Posted Aug. 24, 2015 at 8:20 PM Updated Aug 26, 2015 at 12:41 PM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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